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By Ken Neill III Saltwater recreational fishing license fees will be reduced an average of $5 each. The various recreational license fees that were increased for 2015 are being rolled back to 2014 levels. The new fee structure will start April 1. In other Virginia Marine Resources Commission action, striped bass regulations were set. The coastal season will remain the at a one fish bag limit with a 28-inch minimum size. The Chesapeake Bay spring and fall seasons remain the same, with the exception that the minimum size is increased to 20 inches. The largest changes are in the spring trophy season that begins May 1. The bag limit remains at one fish, but the minimum size is...

Related "Natural Resources" Articles

By Ken Neill III
Saltwater recreational fishing license fees will be reduced an average of $5 each. The various recreational license fees that were increased for 2015 are being rolled back to 2014 levels. The new fee structure will start April...

Last year was a dismal episode for Chesapeake Bay blue crabs and the watermen who harvest them.
The number of spawning females dropped 53 percent from the previous year to an alarming 70 million, a level considered unsustainable for the species. For a...

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission has suspended a Poquoson commercial fisherman's licenses after he was convicted of taking oysters from a condemned area, an official said.
Robert K. Topping Jr. was convicted Jan. 27 on one count of...

The recently concluded General Assembly session marked a turning point for the commonwealth's economy and environment. Recognizing the important role natural resources play in Virginia's future, the legislature passed a significant number of measures to...

Runoff from farmland has been called the largest source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.
Now Virginia farmers will be able to use about $3 million in federal and state funds during the next four years to cover nearly all the cost of increased...

Funding for the Chesapeake Bay watershed is a mixed bag under President Barack Obama's proposed $4 trillion budget for fiscal year 2016.
On the one hand, nonprofits and state leaders are applauding nearly $38 million proposed for conservation projects...

The Daily Press has a limited number of free tickets available for readers to attend the Coastal Virginia Home & Garden show this weekend. The tickets are available beginning Thursday, Feb. 5 at 8 a.m.Tickets must be picked up in person at the Daily...

The state is giving nearly $260,000 to help purchase a conservation easement on 1,260 acres of private farmland around historic Bacon's Castle in Surry County and remove it permanently from residential and commercial development.
The grant is part of...

After Hurricane Sandy swept up the East Coast in October 2012, devastating coastal communities, President Barack Obama called for an analysis of flood risks to vulnerable areas and ways for communities to adapt.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of...

They say it's a lot like a cat and mouse game. Out on the choppy waters of the James River one recent morning, Virginia Marine Police watched and waited for watermen to make their way out to the oyster beds.
Their job: Catch people violating harvesting...

Federal and state agencies will provide an information session from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 8 to explain the federal 2014 Farm Bill that passed Feb. 7. The session will be held at the Yorktown Library at 8500 George Washington Memorial Highway and the...

Requests from watermen interested in harvesting oysters within the city's waterways are becoming more popular, according to Virginia Marine Resources Commission officials.
The state agency in charge of regulating oyster ground leases is processing...

Starting in 2015, all shellfish harvesters and certified dealers will be required to complete a new certification program in order to get their permits and licenses, a Virginia Marine Resources Commission spokeswoman said.The new program will help...

Stewardship Virginia, a statewide campaign to encourage and recognize volunteer activities with a tangible impact on Virginia's natural resources, continues this year with events across the state. The campaign's fall activities run through Oct. 31, a...

Thirty-three organizations will share $500,000 from the Dominion Foundation in support of environmental stewardship initiatives, according to a release from the charitable foundation of Dominion Virginia Power.
The groups will receive funding for...

When it comes to energy efficiency and renewable energy sales, Dominion Resources comes in dead last or nearly so in a new report ranking the country's biggest utilities.
The report was compiled by the environmental advocacy group Ceres and the...

Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Doug Domenech will speak at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science on Friday afternoon in an event that's open to the public.
Domenech, who refers to himself as the "Secretary of Fun," will give a...

Three people were killed and more than 60 were injured when a tornado cut a mile-wide path across Gloucester County Saturday, said Gloucester Sheriff Steve Gentry.The victims have been identified as Periccis Gerasimos Koutsoumbinas,a 60 year-old-male,...

You are cordially invited to a special coming-out party — the release of Norfolk Botanical Garden's three motherless eaglets, now grown and ready to head back into the wild.
The event, open to the public, happens at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 27, at...